Escitalopram (Lexapro) for Depression MS or ALS

April 17, 2019 updated by: Meera Narasimhan, University of South Carolina

An Open-label, 8- Week, Flexible Dose Trial of Escitalopram (Lexapro®) in Comorbid Major Depression With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Multiple Sclerosis

The purpose of this study is to see if escitalopram (Lexapro) improves symptoms of major depressive disorder in patients who have ALS or MS.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This eight-week study aims to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of escitalopram in improving symptoms of Major Depression in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as measured by the HAM-D. In addition, the study will assess improvement in the quality of life in patients with Major Depression and ALS or MS.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

13

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • South Carolina
      • Columbia, South Carolina, United States, 20203
        • University of South Carolina School of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 66 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients between 18 and 70 years of age with documented ALS or MS,
  • DSM-IV episode of non-psychotic Major Depression,
  • ≥14 score on the 17-item HAM-D,
  • Ability to give informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of psychotic disorders,
  • Psychotic depression,
  • Bipolar depression,
  • Suicide risk,
  • History of substance abuse in the previous 6 months,
  • History of unstable medical disorders,
  • Pregnancy or planning for pregnancy,
  • Severity of ALS or MS that limits participating in the study protocol.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Escitalopram
All patients will receive escitalopram 20 mg daily.
Drug: escitalopram
After confirmation of diagnoses and safety screening escitalopram will be started at 10 mg per day and augmented weekly in 10 mg per day increments, the maximum dose being 20 mg per day. The dose will be titrated upward or downward based on clinical response and tolerability. No other psychotropic medications will be permitted during the study. Medications for coexisting medical problems (e.g. hypertension) will be permitted. Study visits will include weekly visits for first 2 weeks and biweekly visits for next 6 weeks. Medications will be dispensed weekly or biweekly and the participants will be followed for 8 weeks.
Other Names:
  • Lexapro

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D 17).
Time Frame: 8 weeks
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HAM-D) is a 17-item observer rated scale that measures depressive symptoms. Items are rated 0 (no symptoms)-4 ( most severe symptoms. Possible minimum and maximum scores range is 0-50. total score indications: 0-7 = Normal; 8-13 = Mild Depression; 14-18 = Moderate Depression; 19-22 = Severe Depression and ≥ 23 = Very Severe Depression.
8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
McGill Quality of Life Scale (MQOL)
Time Frame: 8 weeks
McGill Quality of Life Scale is a a 20-item scale measuring quality of life in chronic and end of life conditions. MQOL is self-reported with a 2-day time frame. Items are scored 0 (worst) to 10 (excellent)on five domains (physical well-being, physical symptoms, psychological, existential, and support). An overall index score can be calculated from the means of the five sub-scales measuring quality of life from 0 (poor) to 10 (excellent).
8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of South Carolina

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Meera Narasimhan, MD, University of South Carolina School of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2009

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2010

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 7, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2009

First Posted (Estimate)

August 25, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 1, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 17, 2019

Last Verified

August 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Pro00003013

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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